Thing is I don't think the iron is hot, we still field players such as Fyfe, Walters, Emmett, O'Meara, Banfield (who lost us games at numerous points this year Port and GWS.. they'd have been helpful wins), we still don't really have our second winger.
If we go all in on Bolton there's still other issues we won't tidy up, we will become similar to Port or the Dogs only cracking the top 4 fleetingly and then bow out - if Freo intend to be a powerhouse they need to do it sustainably, so they absolutely need to hold onto one of those three picks when paying for Bolton.
I see this season as a massive opportunity lost. Swans were the best team for almost the whole season and they're weak at both ends of the ground. Pearce comes back from his broken arm without hurting it again we play in a prelim at least IMO.
In 2013-2015 when we were consistently top 4 there were guys like Suban, Zach Clarke, Zach Dawson, Sutcliffe, Sheridan, etc that were role players in our side. There's a place for guys like O'Meara and Banfield that fill a role.
Unfortunately during that 2013-2015 period we timed our run which coincided with one of the best teams ever. There currently isn't that team, but in a couple of years Brisbane, Hawthorn or Gold Coast could potentially be that team.
Shai Bolton is 25, it's not like we're giving early picks for a 29 year old injury plagued Tom Barrass. How many players can have 400 possessions and 40 goals in a season like Bolton?
Lets say we do Bolton for 10 and 18 and go to the draft with 11. It's quite possible that Bolton plays more games in purple than whoever we take at 11.